Computers use various cursor control mechanisms to provide a physical control over cursor placement on the computer screen. The most common form of cursor control device is a mouse. The mouse includes a plurality of buttons to allow the user to select various items on the screen. When the user depresses the mouse button, the switch inside provides a tactile feedback to the user commonly referred to as a “mouse click.”
Because a mouse is used in a position physically remote from the computer, it is not the preferred cursor control device for portable or laptop computers. In these computers, users want the freedom to operate the computer without any additional external devices. One frequently used cursor control mechanism incorporated into portable computers is that of a pointing stick. These devices have been described in many patents including U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,117 to Seffernick incorporated herein by reference. The Seffernick device provides a pointing stick mechanism including the ability for sensing a z-axis deflection. This z-axis deflection can be used to provide the mouse click function in place of providing separate buttons on the chassis of the computer. However, the pointing stick of Seffernick does not provide any tactile feedback to the user indicating that a click has occurred and is therefore not ideal.
The present invention overcomes this problem by providing a tactile feedback that can be easily provided with a pointing stick. The present invention also provides a mechanism for providing tactile feedback to the user for other conditions as desired by software within the computer.